Hello! I'm picking up this XJ tomorrow after completing the Pre purchase inspection today. First up will be replacing the alternator, i'll do that in the alley this weekend. It's had an oil change recently but I'll check the condition of it.

Some things I'm planning on doing at home after alternator:

- Diff fluid drain and fill
- T case drain and fill
- Transmission drain and fill (x3?) Still undecided on this, I've read conflicting reports.

Also, needs new rear shocks, might do fronts as well. Needs new tires as these are 10 years old. Also, the front passenger wheel bearing is bad, so I guess I will pay for that or for a new hub assembly. Needs new front brakes down the line at some point.

I'm no mechanic but I'm looking for advice on things I can do myself, and things that I need to lookout for. The jeep has some seepage at the oil filter, oil pan, and diffs at least. Just using it for a daily driver for now while my JL gets a new engine.

Some questions, what fluids do I need to keep on hand? How does this forum feel about replacing transmission fluid? Am I in over my head? Jeep runs well and drives nicely. I'm excited for my second Jeep.

 

Congrats on the jeep! How many miles on it? Any knowledge on the prior maintenance schedule?

When you do the alternator, go ahead and clean (or replace with a Big 7 kit from Jeepcables) all your power and ground connections. They are sure to be corroded by now.

Sounds like your on track with the fluid replacement. For the front and rear diffs, I would recommend NOT using synthetic - get some conventional 80w90 or even 85w140. I use Lucas but you can use whatever you like. At its age the diffs will leak some, its normal, until your prepared to reseal the pinions and axle tubes just keep topping it off as needed.

For the transfer case (and transmission) I use Valvoline Dex/Merc and have never had any issues. Fluid choice is highly debated here and elsewhere. I would NOT use ATF+4.

As for the transmission, it really depends on milage, condition of current fluid, and how its driving. Hard to advise without more info.. Is it slow to shift, is the torque converter strong, etc.. ? Drive it some and see what you think. If it drives good but you want to help refresh the fluid while its your daily driver, keep it simple and just drain the pan and refill it, might only take 2-3 quarts. If you pull the pan and change the filter you will need more than a few quarts.

For anything suspension related, like the shocks, be prepared with new hardware. The rear upper bolts are famous to snapping off. Penetrating oil a few days before can help. If you are in a time crunch, go ahead and order flag nuts for the rear and new bolts/nuts for the front. Put never seize on everything you touch lol.

Oil seepage is normal for age, you can live it and keep topping it off as needed or you can dive in a fix it. If its not bad, and this is a temporary daily driver you might not want to put that much effort and money into it. Oil pan gasket usually requires lowering the front axle quite a bit to remove it properly and once its off you may want to go ahead do the rear main seal if you feel up to it - lots of youtube vids on doing it. There is a Oring kit for the oil filter adapter housing. Once you seal those you may find your valve cover gasket will leak too.

Jeeps are basically a mechanical snowball at this point. You have to know where to draw the line and just stop. You can always find something else to fix or improve. Or you can get by with the old, leaky, clunky, rusty, etc.. jeep and it will still get you around. Its really amazing how resilient the cherokee can be.

Until you get familiar with this jeep I would keep a milkcrate in the back with a little bit of everything, lol. Motor oil, transmission fluid, coolant, maybe some stop leak, jumper cables, a tire plug kit and a cheapo 12v compressor.

If it were me with a 1996, I would flush the cooling system and bleed the brakes also. If you do these, (snowball incoming) be prepared for all new hoses and clamps at the minimum for the cooling system. If you bleed the brakes I would spray the bleeder valves with pb blaster multiple times, several days ahead of time and still be prepared to have to replace them. Every jeep I've had when I went to bleed the brakes I either snapped the bleeder valve in two or it wouldn't seal back and had to be replaced.

Good luck!